“This is a super surreal moment in my life. This is the closest I come to time travel to be here in this museum exhibit,” said Ray Romano on November 25th. “The job they’ve done is unbelievable.”
The comedian was on the scene in Stony Brook for a VIP preview of the exciting “Everybody Loves Raymond” exhibit that opened shortly thereafter at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF).
Replacing the beloved Billy Joel exhibit, the walk-through “Raymond” extravaganza will run for at least a year. Those delighted by the healthy dose of nostalgia provided by Paramount Plus’ 30th-anniversary special, which premiered on November 24th, will notice it repurposes the 70-foot stage set from the iconic 1996–2005 sitcom.
The CBS hit covered the life of a native Long Island sportswriter (Romano) and the weekly shenanigans he gets into with his wife (Patricia Heaton), brother (Brad Garrett), his parents (the late Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts), and his children (Madylin Sweeten, Sullivan Sweeten, and the late Sawyer Sweeten).
Romano co-created the show with Phil Rosenthal, who recalled during the special that many of the memorable storylines were based on the writers regularly responding in earnest to one simple prompt every Monday: “So, who got into a fight with their wife last week?”
Weaving the raucousness of real-life marital conflict into the series led to it standing the test of time and resonating with far more generations than even the “Raymond” crew probably set out to entertain at the onset.
As for the real Romano, his legacy did not stop at the influence of his flagship program. After “Raymond,” he developed a palpable second act as a character actor in the crime-comedy genre. If you loved him in “The Irishman”, check out “Get Shorty” – the TV show, not the movie. Ray at his finest.
As for Raymond, he shall remain immortalized in exhibit form for the time being. Presented by Catholic Health and designed by LIMEHOF’s creative director Kevin O’Callaghan, you’ll never feel more at home than during the acutely dreamlike experience of walking through casa de Barone.